16-Dec-2022: NHIDCL signs MoU with NIT Manipur

National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a CPSE under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India, is seeking and promoting innovative technologies to find pragmatic solutions to the challenges posed in the construction of highways facing extreme climatic conditions. In that process NHIDCL has signed Memorandum of Understandings with prestigious institutes like, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, CSIR-CRRI, NSDC, IIT Patna, NIT Srinagar, NIT Agartala, NIT Silchar, NIT Uttarakhand ,NIT Nagaland NIT Sikkim, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Mandi and NIT Jote, Arunachal Pradesh during the current year 2022-23. NHIDCL has previously signed MoUs with IIT Bombay & IIT Guwahati and is in further discussions with other IITs, NITs for signing of such MoUs.

The latest MoU has been signed with, NIT Manipur through Video Conference on 14th December 2022. The MoU was signed between Prof.(Dr) Gautam Sutradhar, Director  NIT Manipur  and  Sh. Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL.

27-Oct-2022: MoU signed between NHIDCL and NIT Silchar

National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a CPSE under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has signed MoU with NIT, Silchar on 26th October, 2022 for seeking and promoting innovative technologies to find pragmatic solutions to the challenges posed in the construction of highways facing extreme climatic conditions. The MoU was signed between Prof. Sivaji Bandyopadhyay , Director, NIT Silchar and Shri Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL.

NHIDCL has signed Memorandum of Understandings with prestigious institutes like, CSIR-CRRI, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, IIT Patna, NIT Srinagar, NIT Agartala and NSDC during the current year 2022-23. NHIDCL has previously signed MoUs with IIT Bombay & IIT Guwahati and is in further discussions with other IITs, NITs for signing of such MoUs.

14-Oct-2022: NHIDCL signs MoU with IIT Patna

National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a CPSE under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India has signed Memorandum of Understandings with CSIR-CRRI, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur and NSDC during the current year 2022-23. Earlier, MoU with IIT Bombay & IIT Guwahati were signed for sharing knowledge of innovative ideas and technologies in the field of Highway Engineering to upgrade skill & capacity of the core Engineering  professional  of  NHIDCL who are  working  tirelessly for construction of Highways, tunnels and other infrastructure in the very tough geographical areas of NE region, UT of Ladakh, UT of J&K and UT of Andaman & Nicobar  Islands.

NHIDCL has also started discussions with other IITs, NITs for signing of MoUs. This will help NHIDCL in introducing innovative technologies and find pragmatic solution to the highways construction issues in challenging hilly and border areas. The latest MoU with IIT, Patna was signed on 11 October, 2022. The MoU was signed by Dr. (Prof) TN Singh, Dir. IIT Patna and Sh. Chanchal Kumar, Managing  Director, NHIDCL.

7-Dec-2022: Modernisation of Postal Department

The Postal Department under the Ministry of Communications has implemented ‘Information Technology (IT) Modernisation Project’ for digitisation and modernisation of Postal Department.

The details of the steps taken for digitization of the Postal Department are as under:

1. All the 25,099 Departmental Post Offices have been computerized and networked. The Department has also modernized 1,29,854 Branch Post Offices in the rural areas of the country by providing Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) based hand held point of sale devices for providing postal and financial services.
2. A central server based integrated, modular and scalable solution for all the operations of Department of Posts including Banking, Insurance, Mails, Human Resources and Finance & Accounts has been provided. The Project also involved creation of Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure like Data Centre (DC), Disaster recovery Centre (DRC) and setting up Wide Area Network (WAN).
3. Core Banking Services (CBS) and Core Insurance Services (Postal Life Insurance and Rural Postal Life Insurance) have been provided in all the Post Offices in the country.
4. Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and e-Passbook facilities are provided to customers. 

The details the steps taken/ proposed for digitisation, State/UT-wise are as below:

1. All the Post Offices have been networked on a single Wide Area Network (WAN) to ensure fast transmission of information among all Post Offices.
2. Department has started sharing Electronic Advance Data (EAD) of international postal articles with other postal administrations to improve security, reduce delay in handling and expedite processing in Customs.
3. A robust system for online track and trace with Management Information System (MIS) from booking to delivery has been put in place.

In order to increase the business, Department regularly reviews its offerings and takes appropriate action to offer value additions to make them more customer and business centric. Further, new products and services are introduced as per customer’s requirements and market needs. In the recent past, Department has also set up dedicated bulk mail/ Parcel Processing centres and established Nodal delivery centres for mechanisation of the Parcel delivery and increase the revenue from Parcel business. Moreover, commercial exports have been enabled through Postal channel by introduction of Postal Bill of Exports by Customs.

The Department in tie up with Government organizations is providing various citizen centric services viz. Aadhaar enrollment & updation facilities, Post Office Passport Seva Kendras, Passenger Reservation facilities, Digital Life certificates etc.

The project has been implemented centrally pan -India. Hence, State/ Union Territory (UT) - wise expenditure is not applicable.

1,54,953 Post Offices including 1,29,854 Rural Branch Post Offices are modernised and enabled for multifunctional delivery of Government Services. 13,352 Aadhaar Enrolment and updation Centres and 429 Passport Seva Kendra are functional in Post Offices. Further, 1,20,196 Post offices are providing Common Service Centre (CSC) Services.

19-Jun-2021: In one of the largest philatelic commemorations ever, India Post to issue a special cancellation stamp at 800 locations to mark IDY - 2021

The Department of Posts [or India Post] is coming out with a special cancellation to capture the essence of the World Yoga Day on 21 June. This unique initiative will mark the commemoration of the 7th International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2021. Indian Post will issue this special cancellation with a pictorial design through its 810 Head Post offices across India. This is going to be one among the largest such simultaneous philatelic commemorations ever.

All delivery and non-delivery Head Post Offices will put this special cancellation on all mail booked in the office on 21stJune 2021. The special pictorial cancellation stamp will be an inked marking or impression with a graphical design with International Day of Yoga 2021 written in Both Hindi and English languages. A cancellation is defined as a postal marking used to deface a stamp to prevent its reuse. Such cancellations are valued collectibles and often subjects of philatelic studies.

Over the years, the passion for stamp collection has seen a decline, and to revive this hobby or art, India Post runs a scheme for philatelists. They avail stamps for collectors at Philatelic Bureaux and counters in designated post offices. One can easily open a philatelic deposit account in any head post office of the country by depositing Rs 200 and get items like stamps and special covers. Additionally, Commemorative stamps are only available at Philatelic Bureaux and counters or under the Philatelic Deposit Account Scheme. They are printed in limited quantities.

Yoga and IDY have been popular subjects for philatelic commemorations over the years. In 2015, the Department of Posts brought out a set of two stamps and a miniature sheet on the International Day of Yoga. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative postage stamps on Surya Namaskara to mark the commemoration of the 2nd International Day of Yoga. In 2017, the UN Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of stamps showing 10 yoga asanas to commemorate the International Day of Yoga in New York.

The IDY has been celebrated all over the world in various (often creative) ways in the last six years. In India, many beautiful pictures from the past have depicted the unique celebrations of Yoga Day. It includes Indian Army personnel practicing Yoga in the icy ranges of the Himalayas, Naval officers and cadets performing Yoga on the decommissioned INS Viraat, creation of Sand Sculptures with IDY messaging, Indian Navy officials performing Yoga on the Indian Navy's submarine INS 'Sindhuratna' etc. The current Philately initiative adds to the diversity in the observance of IDY.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 21st June as the International Day of Yoga (IDY) in their resolution adopted on 11th December 2014. Since 2015, this Day has been observed all over the world in ever-growing numbers of participants.

This year considering the COVID-19 Pandemic led situation, most of the events will take place virtually, promoting the main theme of this year “Be with Yoga, Be at Home.” As the country is cautiously coming out of the lockdown, this massive postal commemoration activity with more than 800 collectibles (cancellation design of each post office being a collectible) opens up immense philatelic opportunities and is likely to re-ignite philatelic activity in the country.

18-Jun-2021: India Post to release a ‘Special Cancellation’ to commemorate 7th International Day of Yoga

India Post is coming out with a 'Special Cancellation' to capture the essence of World Yoga Day on 21 June, 2021. This unique initiative will mark the commemoration of the 7th International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2021.

Yoga and IDY have been popular subjects for philatelic commemorations over the years. In 2015, the Department of Posts brought out a set of two Commemorative Postage stamps and a miniature sheet on the International Day of Yoga. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a set of Commemorative Postage Stamps on Surya Namaskara to mark the commemoration of the 2nd International Day of Yoga. In 2017, the UN Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of stamps showing 10 yoga asanas to commemorate the International Day of Yoga in New York.

On the occasion of the 7th International Day of Yoga (IYD) 2021, Delhi Postal Circle is conducting the following activities: -

• All Post Offices located in Delhi are affixing the message “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” on mail being booked and delivered from 17.06.2021.
• A video is being played in 60 Post major Offices of Delhi for promotion of Yoga among the visitors of Post Offices.
• A virtual lecture cum demonstration session on yoga with special emphasis on post COVID recovery was done on 17.06.2021, which has been attended by the officers/officials of Delhi Postal Circle
• Yoga sessions will be organized on IDY 21.06.2021 at various administrative/operative offices of Delhi Postal Circle observing COVID-19 protocols.
• A special cover on 7th International Day of Yoga on 21.06.2021 will be released by Chief Postmaster General Delhi Circle from New Delhi GPO (Goldakhana).

29-Dec-2020: Year End Review-2020, Department of Posts

For more than 150 years, the Department of Posts (DoP) has been the backbone of the country’s communication and has played a crucial role in the country’s social economic development. It touches the lives of Indian citizens in many ways: delivering mails, accepting deposits under Small Savings Schemes, providing life insurance cover under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) and providing retail services like bill collection, sale of forms, etc. The DoP also acts as an agent for Government of India in discharging other services for citizens such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) wage disbursement and old age pension payments. In the year 2020, the Department strengthened its supply chain through capacity upgradation and expanding Road Transport Network. It played important role in countering impact of COVID-19 pandemic by enabling doorstep delivery of financial services and medicines etc. The Year End Review for Department of Posts highlights the achievements, and progress on various initiatives of department in the year 2020.

1. Supply Chain and e-Commerce: Mail, Express Services and Parcel:
   • Capacity upgradation: Parcel handling capacity has increased from 6.0 crore per annum to 7.5 crore per annum.
   • Road Transport Network: National level dedicated Road Transport Network rolled out on 56 routes touching 80 cities. Approx. 15000 bags containing 75 tonnes of parcels are being carried daily through the setup network.
   • Improvement in Pan – India Average Transit Time for Speed Post: Average Transit time of Speed Post reduced from 105 hrs. in July,2019 to 81 hrs. in Feb,2020.
   • Real–Time updation of Delivery: Postman Mobile App implemented in 1.47 Lakh POs including 98,454 post offices in rural areas. Real time delivery status of 14 crore Speed Post and Registered articles done through the Postman Mobile App.
   • E-Commerce exports: ‘DakGharNiryat Kendra’ are being established at around 800 Post Offices covering all District headquarters to promote exports of MSMEs.
   • International Tracked Packet Service extended to 3 more countries Mongolia, Bhutan and Sri Lanka taking the total from 12 to 15 countries.

2. Banking Services and Financial Inclusion:
   • Digital Financial empowerment of the public at large: DOP serves more than 50 crore POSB customers through 1.56 lakh post offices across length & breadth of the country and have an outstanding balance of Rs. 10,81,293 crore under Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) Schemes.  The Post Office CBS system is the largest network in the world with 23,483 Post Offices already on this network. Further 1,29,151 Branch Post Offices have been also enabled to access the network on real time basis. The CBS has enabled the DOP in providing 24x7 services through ATMs, Internet & Mobile Banking.
   • Financial Empowerment of Rural Populace: All the 9 Small Savings Schemes of MoF are available in 1.56 lakh Post Offices.  5 Schemes, namely, Monthly Income Scheme, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate & Kisan Vikas Patra have been introduced in BOs through SB Order 27/2020 dated 23.07.2020.  People living in rural India will not be required to come to town & cities to do any Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) transaction. The same will be available at their doorstep through local Branch Post Offices.
   • Economic Empowerment of Girl Child: Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) scheme is also known as girl child prosperity scheme and was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji on 22nd January, 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. SSA scheme ensures a bright future for girl children. This scheme has facilitated them in proper education, marriage expenses and securing their future. The Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened in any post office. A total of 1.83 Crore Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts have been opened with deposits amounting to Rs. 58,822.62 Crore, by the Department of Posts, till November, 2020 since introduction of the scheme.
   • Insurance and Pension coverage of masses at reasonable rates: The PM Jan Suraksha Schemes, namely, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeewan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) & Atal Pension Yojana (APY) were launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister in May, 2015. The DOP has been playing an active role under these Government of India flagship schemes and had made 3.2 Lakh Atal Pension Yojana (APY), 5.9 Lakh Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and 1.17 crore Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) enrolments so far.
   • Simplified processing of deceased claim cases to expedite deceased claim settlement process and help claimants to get the claim amount expeditiously.
   • Post Bank of India: More than 1.36 Lakhs Access Points enables for India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) transactions thus creating largest single bank network across the country. More than 2.90 Lakhs GraminDakSewaks (GDS) and Postmen enables to act as Doorstep Banking Service Providers taking Banking services to the doorstep. More than 3.61 crore people benefitted from Aadhar enabled Payment System (AePS) transactions involving an amount of Rs.7,667 crore, majority of them during COVID-19 lockdown.
   • Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):More than 3.99 crores transactions were performed involving an amount of Rs. 4,040crore for a period from January, 2020 to November, 2020. Disbursed benefits of more than 275 schemes of different Ministries to beneficiaries including those in remote and rural areas.
   • Digital Inclusion: 1,29,159 Branch Post offices are using SIM based handheld POS devices. 40 crore digital transactions have been facilitated through promotion of Remotely Managed Franking Machines for a period from January, 2020 to November, 2020.
3. Postal Life Insurance (PLI)/Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI):
   • Bonus of PLI for the financial years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 have been declared in the month of March, 2020. Similarly, Bonus of RPLI for the financial years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 have been declared in the month of April, 2020.
   • A total of 26,54,652 transactions were done in respect of PLI/RPLI amounting to Rs. 5,15,14,03,966/- in the month of April, 2020, inspite of nation-wide lockdown and extension of premium payment period to June, 2020.
   • Since, April, 2020, there has been 48% increase in monthly PLI/RPLI online transactions.
   • Inspite of lockdown and severe restrictions on transportation and staff attendance in offices, more than 90% of Central Processing Centres (CPCs) across the country were functional, more than 70,000 new proposals were processed and more than 40,000 claims were sanctioned in the month of April, 2020.
   • Wirecard, the then existing payment gateway has been replaced by PayU for online premia payment, offering multiple channel of payment by customers, namely Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking, Wallets and UPI.
   • To simplify the process of acceptance of new proposals and facilitate settlement of claims within citizen charter’ norms, approver limits for acceptance of new proposals and settlements of claims have been revised and has been decentralized to Head Post Office/GPO/Divisional Level (except for early death claims involving inquiry, for which approving authority is Director). Accordingly, Rules 55, 55(1), 55(2), 58(1) and 59(2) of PLI (Postal Life Insurance) Rules, 2011 were amended.
   • The process of settlement of Death Claim, Maturity Claim and handing of Loan requests in PLI/RPLI has been simplified by prescribing Comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for each.
   • To facilitate faster processing of death claim cases, Rule 39 of PLI (Postal Life Insurance) Rules, 2011 has been amended keeping in line with the existing Industry practice.
   • A new version of DARPAN-PLI App has been deployed in Core Integration System (CIS) with facility of processing various financial and non-financial requests of PLI/RPLI insurants at level of 127115 Branch Post Offices including those in remote and rural areas.
   • Department has brought in more transparency in communication with customer by adding more SMSs relating to policy servicing.
   • Department has removed 2 revival restrictions during the policy contract. Along with this, provision for revival of policy in instalments has been provisioned in the PLI system.
   • Business Performance of PLI and RPLI:As on 30-11-2020, there were a total of 96.79 lakh active PLI and RPLI policies with an aggregate sum assured of Rs. 2.05 lakh crores.
   • Investment Functions of PLI / RPLI Fund: The total corpus of PLI / RPLI fund has reached Rs 1.13 lakh crore by 30-11-2020.
   • Bima Gram Yojana: From January, 2020 to November, 2020, 17,092 villages brought under the coverage of Bima Gram Yojana (BGY). Each BGY village has at least 100 households covered by one RPLI policy.
4. Citizen Centric Services:
   • Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (PoPSK): With the growing need of its citizens for a passport for various purposes, Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Posts mutually agreed for setting up Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (PoPSKs) in post offices to utilise the post office infrastructure and reach for delivering passport services. 426PoPSKs have been made operational till date, of which 02 PoPSKs opened in 2020 namely (i) Seoni, Madhya Pradesh and (ii) Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Island. 7,27,329applications have been processed through PoPSKs from January, 2020 to November, 2020.
   • Aadhar Enrolment and Updation Centres: The facility has brought convenience to the citizens by way of generating new Aadhaar and updating their Aadhaar cards in case of any change/mis-match. More than 42,000 Postal Officials/MTS/GDS have been trained/certified to perform Aadhaar operations. The Aadhaar Enrolments are done free of cost. A sum of Rs. 100/- is reimbursed by UIDAI for every successful Aadhaar Enrolment to India Post. Aadhaar Updations are chargeable and a sum of Rs. 50/- is collected from the citizens for every demographic updation and Rs. 100/- is collected from the citizens for every biometric updation.13,352 Post Office Aadhaar Centres have been set up across the country. 99,25,630requests for enrollments / updations have been processed by these Centres from January, 2020 to November, 2020.
   • A total no of 3,43,296 Gangajal Bottles have been supplied for the period from January, 2020 to November, 2020.
   • Digital Advancement of Rural Post Offices for a New India (DARPAN): Carried out 17.41 crores online Postal and financial transactions involving Rs. 23,251/- crores for a period from January, 2020 to November, 2020 through 1.29 lakh Branch Post Offices in the rural areas of the country. More than 1.5 crores transactions per month are taking place through DARPAN devices.
   • PO-CSC (Post Office-Common Service Centres):A convergence of Post Offices and Common Service Centres (Part of CSC e-Governance Services India Limited under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology) for effective delivery of various citizen centric services is a part of the five-year Vision Document of the Department of Posts.  Accordingly,10136 Post Offices are now providing services of Common Service Centres through the Digital Sewa portal of CSC. As on 30.11.2020, 48234 transactions worth Rs. 4.62 Crore were delivered through these Post Offices.
   • There are 100+ CSC Services which are offered through these post offices which include Government to Citizen Schemes(G2C) such as Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ Aatmanirbhar Nidhi Yojana (PMSVANIDHI), Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat), Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojana (PM-SYM), Pradhan MantriLaghuVyapari Maan-dhan Yojana (PM-LVM), The Election Card Printing, E-Stamp Service, and Various e-District Services. Some of B2C (Business to Citizens) Services offered includes Bharat Bill Payment System Bills (Electric, Gas, Water bills etc...), Renewal Premium collection for Life Insurance Policies and General Insurance such as Motor Vehicle, Health and Fire Insurance etc., Third party services such as EMI collections for various loans offered by financial institutions and submission of online application forms for loans and Travel services such as Ticket booking service is available for Flight, Train and Bus Tickets.
   • Opening of new Branch Post Offices (BOs) in 90 identified Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts in the country: In pursuance of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Note for Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS), a proposal for opening of 4903 new Branch Post Offices (BOs) in 90 identified LWE districts in the country was under taken. In the first Phase, 1789 Branch Post Offices in Panchayats not having post offices opened in LWE districts across the country, of which 16 Branch Post Offices have been opened from January, 2020 to November, 2020.
5. Public Grievances:
   • Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS):Department of Posts processes complaints registered by consumers of postal services in the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). Streamlining of CPGRAMS was done by mapping over 1.55 lakh Post Offices till the level of Branch Post Offices by intuitive navigation of complaints to the line-end offices for faster resolution. This was done in collaboration with Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and the new version 7.0was successfully launched in September 2019. Department of Posts is the only Department selected for the pilot study for the revamping by DARPG. The details of the complaints handled in 2020 upto 30.11.2020 are as under: - 

• Social Media Cell: Social media Cell is an independent entity and deals with the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the Department of Posts. The social media cell monitors the complaints sent to all the Circles on daily basis. The average first response time is approximately 4 hours. The details of the complaints handled in 2020upto 30.11.2020 are as under: -

•  India Post Call Centre (IPCC):ln wake of the initiatives taken up by Prime Minister to bring transparency and accountability in the Government, Department of Posts established 2ndIndia Post Call Centre with 24x7x365 IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) facility for the citizens in Patna on 01.07.2019. IPCC is working in the four languages namely Hindi, English, Odiya and Bengali for the convenience of the citizens. 36,72,136 calls were received in IPCC from 01.01.2020 to 30.11.2020.
• Implementation of Dynamic Queue Management System (DQMS) in Post Offices: Dynamic Queue Management System (DQMS) has been installed in 57 Head Post Offices in the last one year having six or more than six working counters. Overall DQMS have been installed in 340 Post Offices. The Objectives & scope of DQMS are given below:-
  • To reduce waiting time.
  • To increase processing capacity.
  • To reduce miscommunication among customers.
  • To give a comfort level to staff and customers.
  • To monitor customer flow.

6. Initiatives taken by the Department in the COVID-l9 situation:
   • Postal services were identified as essential services during lockdown. The vast network of post offices had been galvanized to respond to the challenges in coordination with State Governments and local bodies. Control Rooms at India Post HQ and Circle (State) HQs were established to manage, receive and respond for immediate needs.
   • Supply Chain: Road Transport Network connecting 56 routes and 75 cities was commenced in April, 2020 utilizing Departmental Mail Vans. The network came handy to delivery essentials, medicines and medical equipment including ventilators, defibrillators, COVID 19 testing kits, masks and PPE kits. Around 36,000 tonnes of material were delivered through postal channels which also include use of Parcel Trains. Supply chain arrangements were also made for farmers to connect their farm produce to markets.
   • Financial Inclusion: During lockdown and initial phase of unlocking more than 33.95 crore transactions valuing around Rs. 7.02 lakh crore were made through POSB accounts. Around 78 lakh POSB ATM transactions amounting to Rs. 2389 crore were made.
   • Instructions issued during lockdown for the ease of customers:
     1. Waive off penalty/revival fee (default fee) in RD/PPF/SSA Accounts for the deposits due in FY 2019-20 and April, 2020, till June, 2020.
     2. Relaxation in guidelines in respect of PPF/SSA Accounts for a Single Deposit pertaining to FY 2019-20 till June, 2020.
     3. Extension of the prescribed time limit of one month post retirement for retirees, of Feb 2020 to April 2020, to invest in Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) till June, 2020.
     4. Relaxation in provisions for rebate on RD Advance deposits & default fee for the month of March 2020 to May, 2020 without default/ revival fee, till June, 2020.
     5. Reduction in TDS rate in POSB Schemes for the period from 14.05.2020 to March, 2021.
     6. Various relaxation under POSB schemes extended till 30.07.2020 instead of 30.06.2020.
   • India Post tied-ups with Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Director General of Health Services and a number of private firms and online pharmaceutical companies for delivery of medicines from their facilities to hospitals and beneficiaries.
   • During COVID period, Rs. 5200 crore disbursed to 2.5 crore beneficiaries through AePS at the doorstep who were not able to access banking facilities.
   • 31 crore financial transactions enabled during COVID19 period through Post Office and IPPB accounts.
   • Taking initiative in public interest, special features have been added to Post info App for accepting emergent service requests from people. More than 60,000 service requests have been attended by Department of Posts during lockdown.
   • Activated Mobile Post Offices across the country to provide basic postal services, food and masks distribution etc.
   • Free distribution of around 10 lakhs food and ration packets was made to the needy.
   • Launched dedicated Road Transport Network in April, 2020 on 56 long haul routes and connected farm produce of farmers to markets by activating postal supply chain.
   • India Post won India Today Healthgiri Award for providing the best logistic services during COVID19. The selfless service of the employees of India Post did not go unnoticed!
   • Special Covers, Post Cards and Special Impressions were issued with messages to create awareness about social distancing and to express gratitude to Corona Warriors.
   • A grace period was provided to all the Registered Newspapers from March, 2020 to November, 2020 for printing and posting of their editions as per their convenience.
   • Department of Posts has extended the Postal Life Insurance (PLI) / Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) premium payment period due on March, 2020, April, 2020 and May, 2020 upto 30.06.2020 without penalty/default fee due to outbreak of COVID19.Due to outbreak of COVID19, date for revival of lapsed policies, in which premia have not been paid during the last 5 years, was extended in phases.
   • CPGRAMS Portal: A separate category for 'COVID-19' grievances was created on CPGRAMS to address and monitor grievances of the public with regard to their postal needs in the backdrop of the pandemic. 1235 grievances have been resolved within the prescribed timeline of 3 days since the creation of the category i.e. from 30.03.2020.
   • Social Media: Social Media (Twitter handle of India Post) had a mitigating effect in this pandemic by providing immediate relief to the citizens by redressing their concerns in booking and delivering medicines and arranging financial transactions in post offices. 1.54 lakh grievances have been resolved during the period of lockdown.
   • Separate category of COVID 19 Grievances provided on the Online portal. IPPC services over 25 Lakh calls during COVID 19 lockdown.
7. Miscellaneous:
   • Human Resource Management: The Department has conducted various training sessions and a total no of 92,824 officers / officials were trained for the period from January, 2020 to November, 2020.

27-Oct-2020: India Post and United States Postal Service (USPS) signs Agreement for Electronic Exchange of Customs Data related to postal shipments exchanged between the two countries

Department of Posts, Government of India (India Post) and United States Postal Service (USPS) have entered into an agreement for Electronic Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments exchanged between the two countries. The agreement will make it possible to transmit and receive electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination and would enable customs clearance of postal items in advance in line with the evolving global postal framework. This will also improve the performance of postal services in terms of reliability, visibility and security.

USA is the top export destination for India (~17%) which is also reflected in exchange of goods through postal channel. In 2019, around 20% of outbound EMS and 30% of Letters & Small Packets transmitted by India Post were destined to USA whereas 60% of the Parcels received by India Post were originated from USA. Exchange of Electronic Advance Data (EAD) as per the Agreement will be a key driver towards promoting mutual trade with emphasis on the exports from different parts of India to USA through postal channel considering that USA is a major destination of MSME products, Gems &Jewelry, Pharmaceuticals and other local products from India. This will fulfill a major demand of export industry to expedite customs clearances of export items.

The primary objective that will be served by this agreement is to facilitate ‘ease of exports’ for small and large exporters through postal channels from different parts of the country and will contribute towards making India an Export Hub for the world.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Prannoy Sharma, Deputy Director General (International Relations & Global Business), Department of Posts, Government of India and Mr. Robert H. Raines Jr., Managing Director, Global Business of United States Postal Service.

10-Sep-2020: India Post launches Five Star Villages Scheme to ensure 100% rural coverage of postal schemes

The Department of Posts has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages, to ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country. The scheme seeks to bridge the gaps in public awareness and reach of postal products and services, especially in interior villages. All postal products and services will be made available and marketed and publicized at village level, under the Five Star Villages scheme. Branch offices will function as one-stop shop to cater all post office - related needs of villagers. The schemes covered under the Five Star scheme include: i) Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates, ii) Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts, iii) Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts, iv) Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy and v) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account.

If a village attains universal coverage for four schemes from the above list, then that village gets four-star status; if a village completes three schemes, then that village get three-star status and so on.

Launching the scheme, the Union Minister of State for Communications, Shri Sanjay Dhotre said that the scheme is being launched on pilot basis in Maharashtra; based on the experience here, it will be implemented nation-wide. “Postman and Postal Department are a vital part of the ordinary citizen's life. India Post has been serving the people in an extraordinary way in the difficult situation which has emerged due to COVID-19, by bringing them medicines and financial assistance. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi not only brought schemes, but has been ensuring their effective implementation as well. The Postal Department has been playing a major role in the implementation of Government schemes, leveraging the immense strength of its vast network. Postal schemes are known for providing highly secured deposits, they provide higher return of interest with low risk.” The Minister said that the way to realize the goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat is through collaborative efforts such as this, wherein various schemes have been brought together under one umbrella, with the goal of providing financial inclusion.

The entire state of Maharashtra will be covered under the scheme. To begin with, two rural districts / areas for each region have been identified: Akola and Washim in Nagpur Region; Parbhani and Hingoli in Aurangabad Region; Solapur and Pandharpur in Pune Region; Kolhapur and Sangli in Goa Region; and Malegaon and Palghar in Navi Mumbai Region. A total of 50 villages in each district will be covered during the current financial year 2020-2021. Regional offices will identify the villages to be covered.

Scheme Implementation Team: The scheme will be implemented by a team of five Gramin Dak Sevaks who will be assigned a village for marketing of all products, savings and insurance schemes of the Department of Posts. This team will be headed by the Branch Post Master of the concerned Branch Office. Mail overseer will keep personal watch on progress of team on daily basis. The teams will be led and monitored by concerned Divisional Head, Assistant Superintendents Posts and Inspector Posts.

Campaign: The team of Gramin Dak Sevaks will conduct door-to-door awareness campaign on all schemes, covering all eligible villagers. Wide publicity will be given by displaying the information on notice board of Branch Office. Prominent places of targeted villages like Panchayat Offices, schools, village dispensaries, bus depots, markets will also be used for advertising and pamphlets will be distributed. Small melas will be organized, considering COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Training and Monitoring: Required training and infrastructure, covering all schemes, would be provided to all branch offices in identified villages. The scheme progress and target achievement will be closely monitored at Circle, Regional and Divisional levels. Monthly progress will be reviewed by the Chief Post Master General.

The Chief Post Master General of Maharashtra Circle and Goa State, Shri Harish Chandra Agrawal assured the Minister that Maharashtra will provide a fine example in successful implementation of Five Star Villages Scheme, paving the way for the national roll-out of the scheme later. Director General (Posts), Shri Vineet Pandey; and Postmaster General, Mumbai Region, Ms Swati Pandey also attended the online launch.

24-May-2020: Bihar Postal Circle of Department of Posts to deliver "Shahi Lichi" and "Zardalu Mango" at doorsteps of people

The Department of Posts, Government of India and Department of Horticulture, Government of Bihar have joined hands to supply ''Shahi Lichi'' &  "Zardalu Mango" to the people at doorstep.   Bihar Postal Circle has made an agreement with Department of Horticulture, Government of Bihar for logistics of Shahi Lichi from Muzaffarpur and Zardalu Mango from Bhagalpur and its delivery to the door step of the people.

Because of lockdown to contain the spread of corona virus, Litchi & Mangoes cultivators have been finding it difficult to carry/transport their fruits to the markets for sale. Its supply amongst people has become big challenge and so to meet the demand of public and for giving market space directly to farmers to sell their fruits without any middlemen, the Department of Horticulture, Govt. of Bihar & Department of Posts, Govt of India have joined hands for this initiative.

The ''Shahi Lichi'' of Muzaffarpur  (Bihar) &  "Zardalu Mango" of Bhagalpur(Bihar) are famous in world by virtue of their unique fragrance and demand everywhere. People can place order on website "horticulture.bihar.gov.in" online.

This facility will be initially available to people of Muzaffarpur & Patna for ''Shahi Lichi'' & Patna & Bhagalpur for "Zardalu Mango" . Lichi will be booked minimum for 2 kgs and mangoes for 5 kgs.

Online booking and delivery at doorstep facility will help cultivators/farmers by earning decent profits in this new market directly. Customers will also be benefitted to get these branded fruits at their doorstep at low cost. Till now order for 4400 kgs Lichi has been placed on website. It may go upto 100000 kgs during the season. Order for Mangoes will start in last week of May.

18-Dec-2018: India Post enters e-commerce

India Post recently announced its full-fledged entry into the ecommerce space and intends to leverage its parcel business for end-to-end delivery of products.

The newly-launched ecommerce portal of the Department of Posts (DoP) will provide an e-marketplace to sellers, especially rural artisans, self-help groups, women entrepreneurs and public sector units, to sell their products to buyers across the country.

The small and local sellers, who have been left behind in the ecommerce space will now, by leveraging the vast physical and IT network of DoP, be able to maximise their reach and retailing power.

Buyers can select the products of their choice displayed by the sellers on the portal and place online orders by making digital payments. The products will be transported through [DoP's] Speed Post. The development would give the handicraft boards of the states as well as handlooms and weavers' societies access to India's fast-growing ecommerce market, growing at a rate of 20-25% a year.

Products offered: The portal currently offers a limited range of products, from clothing to cosmetics, from personal grooming appliances to bags and more. But as it gains traction, categories like tribal crafts and handloom products could grab eyeballs.

Delivery network: Given that India Post boasts a massive delivery network spanning even remote villages through its 1.55 lakh post offices, the new portal - ecom.indiapost.gov.in - certainly enjoys enviable reach, unmatched even by the biggies in the business like Amazon and Walmart-back Flipkart.

Seller registration: India Post is open for registration of all vendors for ecommerce business. It will pick up products from vendor and deliver to doorstep of customers. Registration of sellers on the portal is free for six months.

Product returns: Not happy with your purchase from the portal? You have the choice to return it. India Post will also facilitate return of products service like it is available for customers on other ecommerce platforms.

Delivery charges: The DoP has reportedly set a separate parcel directorate, which will decide on the rates of parcel and other related issues keeping the competition in mind. Previously, any decision related to change in parcel delivery rates or matching services of private players required approval from top officials so the process was time-consuming.